Kennedy Fauntleroy (pronounced FONT-luh-roy), the American Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year last season at East Carolina, became the 11th transfer to sign an Institutional Financial Aid Agreement (IFAA) with Tennessee, Lady Vol head coach Kim Caldwell confirmed on Wednesday.
A 5-foot-7 forward from Upper Marlboro, Md., Fauntleroy excelled in her lone season at ECU, adding first-team all-conference, all-newcomer and all-defensive accolades in the American to her previously-mentioned headliner recognition. She started 31 of 32 games a year ago, averaging 13.7 points, 4.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 steals for the Pirates while draining 45 three-pointers and shooting 73 percent from the free-throw line.
Fauntleroy joins previously-announced transfer portal signees in 5-6 guard Shaelyn Steele (Penn State), 5-7 guard Jada Eads (Seton Hall), 5-9 guards Avery Mills (Liberty), Naomi White (Northern Arizona) and Rylie Theuerkauf (Georgia), 6-0 guard Kaylene Smikle (Maryland), 6-1 forward Aaliyah Moore (Texas), 6-2 forwards Zhen Craft (Georgia) and Fatmata “Fats” Janneh (Texas A&M), and 6-3 forward Harper Peterson (Stanford) in Tennessee’s 2026 transfer portal class.
UT also has two incoming freshmen, including 6-1 guard/forward Gabby Minus (Dacula, Ga./Hebron Christian Academy), the No. 64-ranked player in the 2026 SportsCenter NEXT 100 class, and 5-10 guard Irene Oboavwoduo (Manchester, England/Trinity Church of England H.S.), who has a bevy of international experience with several Great Britain national teams.
Prior to her stop at ECU, Fauntleroy appeared in 22 games with 12 starts in 2024-25 at Arizona State, averaging 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with 55 assists and 35 steals. She scored in double figures eight times with a high of 17 points against Texas Tech and recorded five games with six or more assists.
In 2023-24, Fauntleroy played in five contests at Oklahoma State as a sophomore, averaging 7.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals. She opened the year by scoring 14 points and adding four steals in helping the Cowgirls score 100 points in a win over SIUE. She played a season-high 31 minutes and had a season-most four assists at Colorado.
Beginning her college career at Georgetown, Fauntleroy made the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team and was the unanimous choice for BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. She started 29 of 30 games, finishing second on the team at 10.9 points per contest. She also averaged 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game. In league play, she produced 11.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.9 assists per outing.
In high school, Fauntleroy starred for New Hope Academy, earning a No. 74 rating in the SportsCenter NEXT 100 recruiting rankings. She was the 2020-21 MaxPreps Maryland Player of the Year as a junior, when she averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game while shooting 38.3 percent from 3-point distance. She also had an impressive 4.3 assist/turnover ratio.
In the 2026 portal recruiting rankings, Smikle is ranked No. 8 by The Athletic, No. 13 by HoopsHQ and No. 14 by espnW, while Janneh is rated No. 16 by HoopsHQ.
2026-27 Lady Vol Roster Additions (Signees)
Incoming Transfers
Zhen Craft (6-2, SO, F, Waldorf, Md./Bishop McNamara H.S./Georgia)
Jada Eads (5-7, G, JR, Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep H.S./Seton Hall)
Kennedy Fauntleroy (5-7, G, R-SR, Upper Marlboro, Md./New Hope Academy/Georgetown/Okla. St./Ariz. St./ECU)
Fatmata “Fats” Janneh (6-2, SR, F, London, England/Barking Abbey Sixth Form/Texas A&M)
Avery Mills (5-9, JR, G, Lynchburg, Va./Lynchburg H.S./Liberty)
Aaliyah Moore (6-1, F, R-SR, Moore, Okla./Moore H.S./Texas)
Harper Peterson (6-3, R-SO, F, Rocklin, Calif./Whitney H.S./Stanford)
Kaylene Smikle (6-0, G, R-SR, Bay Shore, N.Y. /Westtown H.S./Rutgers/Maryland)
Shaelyn Steele (5-6, G, JR, Ashland, Ky./Russell H.S./Penn State)
Rylie Theuerkauf (5-9, SR, G, Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly H.S./Wake Forest/Georgia)
Naomi White (5-9, R-SO, G, Omaha, Neb./Bellevue West H.S./Northern Arizona)
Incoming Freshmen
Gabby Minus (6-1, FR, G/F, Dacula, Ga./Hebron Christian Academy)
Irene Oboavwoduo (5-10, FR, G, Manchester, England/Trinity Church of England H.S.)
